Awaiting committee decision
2014/2210(INI) Family businesses in Europe
Next event: Vote scheduled in committee, 1st reading/single reading 2015/05/28 more...
Lead committee dossier: ITRE/8/02151
Legal Basis RoP 052
Next event: Vote scheduled in committee, 1st reading/single reading 2015/05/28 more...
- Indicative plenary sitting date, 1st reading/single reading 2015/07/06
| Role | Committee | Rapporteur | Shadows |
|---|---|---|---|
| Opinion | EMPL | KRASNODĘBSKI Zdzisław (ECR) | |
| Opinion | FEMM | AIUTO Daniela (EFD) | |
| Lead | ITRE | NIEBLER Angelika (EPP) | KAILI Eva (S&D), FOX Ashley (ECR), GIRAUTA VIDAL Juan Carlos (ALDE), SAKORAFA Sofia (GUE/NGL), TURMES Claude (Verts/ALE), BORRELLI David (EFD) |
Legal Basis RoP 052
Activites
-
2015/07/06
Indicative plenary sitting date, 1st reading/single reading
-
2015/05/28
Vote scheduled in committee, 1st reading/single reading
-
2014/12/17
Committee referral announced in Parliament, 1st reading/single reading
Documents
| Amendments | Dossier |
| 387 |
2014/2210(INI)
2015/01/29
FEMM
62 amendments...
Amendment 1 #
Draft opinion Recital A A. whereas there is a growing presence of women in family businesses, and w
Amendment 10 #
Draft opinion Recital C C. whereas women encounter substantial difficulties in their involvement in family businesses, and are subject to ‘vertical’ and ‘horizontal’ gender segregation, and this despite the high level of education of women, who account for 60% of all graduates;
Amendment 11 #
Draft opinion Recital C a (new) Ca. whereas in many countries the problem resides in the fact that society is permeated by a culture of male dominance in all walks of life and not only at the workplace;
Amendment 12 #
Draft opinion Recital C a (new) Ca. whereas family farms offer a template for success because they put the principle of the environmentally and socially sustainable circular-flow economy into practice and because in that context women, as leaders, contribute not only entrepreneurial thinking, but also specific communication and social skills;
Amendment 13 #
Draft opinion Recital C a (new) Ca. whereas women earn, on average, 16% less per hour than men in the EU and there is a dearth of women in high-level and leadership positions, and whereas the labour practices and wage systems applied to men are not the same as those applied to women, making it more difficult for the latter to be financially independent, participate fully in the job market and achieve work-life balance;
Amendment 14 #
Draft opinion Recital D D. whereas women often play an invisible role,
Amendment 15 #
Draft opinion Recital D D. whereas women often play an invisible role, or act as figureheads, and do not have their job or salary status appropriately recognised, which has serious repercussions in terms of social security contributions, pensions and welfare entitlements;
Amendment 16 #
Draft opinion Recital D D. whereas women often play an invisible role, or act as figureheads, and do not have their job or salary status appropriately recognised, which has serious repercussions in terms of social security contributions, pensions and welfare; whereas maternity leave constitutes an additional burden for women as it is negatively reflected in pension schemes;
Amendment 17 #
Draft opinion Recital D D. whereas women often play an invisible role, or act as figureheads, and do not have their job or salary status appropriately recognised, which has serious repercussions in terms of social security contributions, pensions and welfare and also in terms of recognition of their skills;
Amendment 18 #
Draft opinion Recital D D. whereas women often play an invisible role, or act as figureheads, and do not have their job or salary status appropriately recognised, which has serious repercussions in terms of social security contributions, pensions and welfare
Amendment 19 #
Draft opinion Recital D a (new) Da. whereas, in many European countries, women are frequently required to act as figureheads, either for tax reasons or because of legal obstacles preventing a male entrepreneur from holding any position within the business or placing it in his own name;
Amendment 2 #
Draft opinion Recital A A. whereas there is a growing presence of women in family businesses and women are a major resource in terms of their
Amendment 20 #
Draft opinion Recital E E. whereas women have difficulty in taking over family businesses as successors, given that preference is given to sons and daughters are
Amendment 21 #
Draft opinion Recital E E. whereas women have difficulty in taking over family businesses as successors, given that preference is given to sons and daughters are
Amendment 22 #
Draft opinion Recital E E. whereas women have difficulty in taking over family businesses as successors, given that preference is given to sons and daughters are
Amendment 23 #
Draft opinion Recital E E. whereas women have difficulty in taking over family businesses as successors, given that preference is given to sons and daughters are nearly always excluded, save under exceptional circumstances dictated by the absence of a male heir or a crisis affecting the company;
Amendment 24 #
Draft opinion Recital E a (new) Ea. whereas women seeking to combine their roles as mothers and business operators frequently find themselves forced to sideline the former or even abandon the notion of motherhood in order to run the business;
Amendment 25 #
Draft opinion Recital E a (new) Ea. whereas some 60 % of all businesses in the EU are family run or family owned;
Amendment 26 #
Draft opinion Recital E a (new) Ea. whereas ensuring competent family leadership across generations is one of the main concerns of family businesses and gender stereotypes privilege sons against daughters in the family firm succession;
Amendment 27 #
Draft opinion Recital E a (new) Ea. whereas family businesses create favourable environment for reconciliation of family and work life of women, especially mothers;
Amendment 28 #
Draft opinion Recital E b (new) Eb. acknowledging the crucial example set by properly functioning family business governance and its importance for the sustainability of the European economy and the social market economy in Europe;
Amendment 29 #
Draft opinion Recital E c (new) Ec. whereas many family businesses are small-scale, independent firms which not only make a significant contribution to the economy, but also embody long-term stability wherever they are located, including in rural areas, display a special degree of commitment to their local community, shoulder exceptional responsibility as property owners and stand in the European tradition of the ‘honourable merchant’;
Amendment 3 #
Draft opinion Recital A A. whereas there is a growing presence of women in family businesses and women are a major resource in terms of their ability to influence strategies, decisions and management especially because the number of women graduating is equal and even higher than the number of men;
Amendment 30 #
Draft opinion Paragraph 1 1. Calls for measures to protect women to be applied and implemented more effectively, with a view to avoiding horizontal and vertical segregation, wage and job discrimination
Amendment 31 #
Draft opinion Paragraph 1 1. Calls for measures to protect women to be applied and implemented more effectively, with a view to avoiding horizontal and vertical segregation, wage and job discrimination (invisibility and ‘figurehead’ treatment), providing both genders with equal opportunities, social rights and access to health, as well as ensuring fair remuneration, contribution payments, pensions and benefits;
Amendment 32 #
Draft opinion Paragraph 1 1. Calls for measures to protect women to be applied and implemented more effectively, with a view to avoiding horizontal and vertical segregation, wage and job discrimination (invisibility) and
Amendment 33 #
Draft opinion Paragraph 1 1. Calls for measures to protect women to be applied and implemented more effectively, with a view to avoiding
Amendment 34 #
Draft opinion Paragraph 1 1. Calls for m
Amendment 35 #
Draft opinion Paragraph 1 a (new) 1a. Maintains that the skills acquired by women from family businesses have to be recognised so as to enable those women to further their careers in other types of businesses;
Amendment 36 #
Draft opinion Paragraph 1 a (new) 1a. Calls for the adoption of an unambiguous definition of family businesses for all the Member States, providing a solid career base for both genders;
Amendment 37 #
Draft opinion Paragraph 1 a (new) 1a. Invites the EU and the Member states to harmonize the rules for family businesses in Europe to guarantee women adequate protection on maternity leave that would include measures preventing discrimination of mothers in pension schemes;
Amendment 38 #
Draft opinion Paragraph 2 Amendment 39 #
Draft opinion Paragraph 2 2. Stresses the need to protect women’s right to succession in family businesses, on a par with men, by promoting a culture of fairness between men and women which highlights the entrepreneurial role of women in family businesses, in positions of management, responsibility and leadership
Amendment 4 #
Draft opinion Recital A a (new) Aa. whereas little information is, however, available concerning women employed in family businesses, given that the actual concept of the family business is still relatively undocumented;
Amendment 40 #
Draft opinion Paragraph 2 a (new) 2a. Calls on the Commission and the Member States to support the European Network of Female Entrepreneurship Ambassadors and the European Network of Mentors for Women Entrepreneurs in order to raise their profile;
Amendment 41 #
Draft opinion Paragraph 2 a (new) 2a. Draws attention to the important role which women play in running family farms, and calls on the Member States to support business training aimed specifically at women farmers, in order to strengthen women’s involvement in family farming even further; urges in particular, in that connection, that support should be given to training projects for women who run family farms with a view to increasing women’s involvement in farming and regional organisations;
Amendment 42 #
Draft opinion Paragraph 2 a (new) 2a. Stresses the need to secure the best possible working conditions in terms of health and security at the place of work;
Amendment 43 #
Draft opinion Paragraph 3 3. Calls for the ‘mother-entrepreneur’ figure to be promoted, in order to guarantee the right to maternity and to grant financial assistance
Amendment 44 #
Draft opinion Paragraph 3 3. Calls for the ‘mother-entrepreneur’ figure to be promoted, in order to guarantee the right to maternity and to
Amendment 45 #
Draft opinion Paragraph 3 3. Calls for the ‘mother-entrepreneur’ figure to be promoted, in order to guarantee the right to maternity and to grant financial assistance to women who intend to devote themselves to both their families and businesses and to reconcile their working and private lives within a larger framework;
Amendment 46 #
Draft opinion Paragraph 3 3. Calls for the ‘mother-entrepreneur’ figure to be promoted, in order to guarantee the right to maternity, to acknowledge time spent bringing up children and to grant financial assistance to women who intend to devote themselves to both their families and businesses;
Amendment 47 #
Draft opinion Paragraph 3 a (new) 3a. Stresses that offering more opportunities for women in family businesses will benefit both the women and the businesses;
Amendment 48 #
Draft opinion Paragraph 3 a (new) 3a. Calls for all possible measures to be adopted to prevent and penalise acts of abuse or coercion, situations conducive to blackmail and/or subjugation, or violence against women at the workplace, pointing out that, in addition to acts of physical violence, seclusion and discrimination are also forms of mental cruelty or psychological aggression;
Amendment 49 #
Draft opinion Paragraph 3 a (new) 3a. Reminds the Member States and local and regional authorities once again of the importance of there being sufficient provision of high-quality and affordable care services for children, the elderly and other dependent persons, of tax incentives for companies and of other compensation to help women and men working as employees, on their own account or as managers in family businesses to balance their family and work commitments;
Amendment 5 #
Draft opinion Recital B B. whereas family businesses represent an important career opportunity for women, although that fact is not recognised, because there are no female role models to follow;
Amendment 50 #
Draft opinion Paragraph 3 b (new) 3b Welcomes the Commission's intention to encourage the study and statistical analysis of the presence of women in family businesses in Europe;
Amendment 51 #
Draft opinion Paragraph 3 b (new) 3b. Stresses the need for separate and duly remunerated periods of maternity, paternity and parental leave which meet the needs of employees, the self-employed and business employers;
Amendment 52 #
Draft opinion Paragraph 4 4. Urges the European Union and Member States to consider and include the protection of women
Amendment 53 #
Draft opinion Paragraph 4 4. Urges the European Union and Member States to
Amendment 54 #
Draft opinion Paragraph 4 4. Urges the European Union and Member States to consider and include the protection of women each time they legislate on matters relating to family businesses and in particular in the context of the women on boards directive.
Amendment 55 #
Draft opinion Paragraph 4 4. Urges the European Union and Member States to consider and include the protection of women as well as the promotion of women's access to professional training each time they legislate on matters relating to family businesses.
Amendment 56 #
Draft opinion Paragraph 4 a (new) 4a. Calls on the Commission to encourage across-the-board acceptance of a clear definition of ‘family business’ at EU and national level, as recommended in the final report of the European Expert Group Overview of Family-Business- Relevant Issues 2009.
Amendment 57 #
Draft opinion Paragraph 4 a (new) 4a. Emphasises that eliminating all the differences between men and women working in family businesses would generate benefits for the economy and for society in general; points out that the Strategy for Equality between Men and Women 2010-2015 aims to increase the employment rate to 75% for women, which is the target set in the Europe 2020 Strategy, and that this includes those groups of women with the lowest rates of employment.
Amendment 58 #
Draft opinion Paragraph 4 a (new) 4a. Stresses the need to establish support frameworks for female business owner- managers in family businesses in order to increase their confidence and self- efficacy.
Amendment 59 #
Draft opinion Paragraph 4 a (new) 4a. Insists that family businesses be required to ensure equal treatment and opportunities for men and women at work, in the management of the business and in decision making, and that they must to that end adopt measures to prevent any kind of discrimination and to promote gender equality.
Amendment 6 #
Draft opinion Recital B B. whereas family businesses, family-run independent businesses and new businesses of this kind represent an important career opportunity for women;
Amendment 60 #
Draft opinion Paragraph 4 b (new) 4b. Calls on the Commission to draw up a non-legislative European family strategy which takes full account of the role played by women and mothers in family businesses, the social and economic significance of ‘mompreneurs’ and the specific contribution they make to implementing the principles underpinning fair leadership, entrepreneurial social responsibility and a new, sustainable employment culture.
Amendment 61 #
Draft opinion Paragraph 4 b (new) 4b. Stresses the need for specific proposals making for better balance in terms of working, family and personal life by encouraging men and women to share occupational, family and social responsibilities more evenly, especially where assistance to dependants and childcare is concerned; notes that better provision of day care and nursery services depends not only on public policies for the creation of these facilities, but also on incentives to businesses to offer such solutions; notes that flexibility in respect of working hours and the way work is organised, as well as part-time working, may constitute one means of achieving a better work-life balance;
Amendment 62 #
Draft opinion Paragraph 4 b (new) 4b. Calls on the Council to reach consensus as soon as possible and adopt the Directive on improving the gender balance among non-executive directors of companies listed on stock exchanges, so that all companies listed on stock exchanges, including family businesses, meet the target of at least 40% of the members of their boards of directors being women.
Amendment 7 #
Draft opinion Recital B B. whereas family businesses represent an important career and personal development opportunity for women;
Amendment 8 #
Draft opinion Recital C C. whereas women encounter substantial difficulties in their involvement in family businesses
Amendment 9 #
Draft opinion Recital C C. whereas women encounter substantial difficulties in their involvement in family businesses and are in some cases still subject to ‘vertical’ and ‘horizontal’ gender segregation;
source: 546.839
2015/04/29
ITRE
210 amendments...
Amendment 1 #
Motion for a resolution Heading 1 Amendment 10 #
Motion for a resolution Recital C C. whereas, while most family businesses are SMEs, in some EU Member States a few family businesses account for a large share of the total turnover of all businesses and thus make a significant contribution to job retention, including in times of crisis, job creation and growth and the economic success of the country concerned1; ___________ 1 In Germany alone, 17 percent of all employees who pay mandatory social security contributions work for ‘big’ family businesses with an annual turnover of at least EUR 50 million; while they account for a mere 0.1% of all companies in Germany, they generate 20% of the total turnover of all companies in that country.
Amendment 100 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 6 a (new) 6a. Underscores that because of the financial crisis and the adverse economic cycle, many of the functions of the family businesses are underfinanced and it is important the family business to have open and easy access to alternative sources of financing;
Amendment 101 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 6 a (new) 6a. Calls on the Commission to improve access to credit for family businesses, avoiding securitisation as proposed in the Capital Markets Union Green Paper.
Amendment 102 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 7 7. Notes that 35% of those companies that do not invest in foreign markets fail to do so because of their lack of knowledge of
Amendment 103 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 7 7. Notes that 35% of those companies that do not invest in foreign markets fail to do so because of their lack of knowledge of foreign markets; calls on the Commission and the Member States therefore to provide smaller family businesses in particular with information about opportunities for internationalisation and ensure that they have access to a better exchange of experience and good practices; calls on the Member States, furthermore, to provide support services for businesses that intend to invest internationally,
Amendment 104 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 7 7.
Amendment 105 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 7 7. Notes that 35% of those companies that do not invest in foreign markets fail to do so because of their lack of knowledge of foreign markets; calls on the Commission and the Member States therefore to provide smaller family businesses in particular with information about opportunities for internationalisation and ensure that they have access to a better exchange of experience and good practices; calls on the Member States, furthermore, to provide
Amendment 106 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 7 7. Notes that 35% of those companies that do not invest in foreign markets fail to do so because of their lack of knowledge of foreign markets; calls on the Commission and the Member States therefore to provide smaller family businesses in particular with information about opportunities for internationalisation and ensure that they have access to a better exchange of experience and good practices; calls on the Member States, furthermore, to provide support services for businesses that intend to invest internationally, for example by providing them with information or export credit guarantees
Amendment 107 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 7 7. Notes that 35% of those companies that do not invest in foreign markets fail to do so because of their lack of knowledge of foreign markets and lack of experience with internationalisation much to their detriment; calls on the Commission and the Member States therefore to provide smaller family businesses in particular with information about opportunities for internationalisation and ensure that they have access to a better exchange of experience and good practices; calls on the Member States, furthermore, to provide support services for businesses that intend to invest internationally, for example by providing them with information or export credit guarantees and by removing trade barriers;
Amendment 108 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 7 7. Notes that 35% of those companies that do not invest in foreign markets fail to do so because of their lack of knowledge of foreign markets; calls on the Commission and the Member States therefore to provide smaller family businesses in particular with information about opportunities for internationalisation via the SME Internationalisation portal and the European Cluster Collaboration Platform (ECCP) and ensure that they have access to a better exchange of experience and good practices; calls on the Member States, furthermore, to provide support services for businesses that intend to invest internationally, for example by providing them with information or export credit guarantees and by removing trade barriers;
Amendment 109 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 7 7. Notes that 35% of those companies that do not invest in foreign markets fail to do so because of their lack of knowledge of foreign markets; calls on the Commission and the Member States therefore to provide smaller family businesses in particular with information about opportunities for internationalisation, in particular via the internet, and ensure that they have access to a better exchange of experience and good practices; calls on the Member States, furthermore, to provide support services for businesses that intend to invest internationally, for example by providing them with information or export credit guarantees and by removing trade barriers;
Amendment 11 #
Motion for a resolution Recital C Amendment 110 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 7 a (new) 7a. Notes, however, that conversely, production is often transferred to overseas subsidiaries and tends to take the place of production by the parent company and other ancillary-sector companies located in the country of origin; this has negative repercussions in terms of both absolute levels of employment and wage levels; points out, in this regard, that the fall in employment and wage compression are behind the crisis in demand, i.e. the structural economic imbalance of the eurozone, denoted by the excessive current account surpluses generated in some Member States because of the fixed exchange rate structure; calls on the Commission to implement much stricter policies to contain excessive trade imbalances, which should take into account forms of compensation between ‘surplus’ Member States and ‘deficit’ Member States, not only on the basis of a single specific set of annual data, but on cumulative values over a five-year period, calculated on a rolling basis from 2010;
Amendment 111 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 7 a (new) 7a. Notes that by providing necessary information about internationalisation and investment in foreign markets for smaller family businesses in EU, reducing the trade barriers between MS, simplifying the rules for trade between MS and making these rules more transparent will help in creating fully functioning Single Market in EU for goods and services;
Amendment 112 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 7 a (new) 7a. Recognises that the fiscal, legal and administrative environment in which family businesses (and owner-managed businesses) operate is defined by the combined effect of corporate legislation and private law;
Amendment 113 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 7 a (new) 7a. Notes that the tax, legal and administrative environment in which family businesses and owner-managed businesses are run is determined by the cumulative effect of company law and private law;
Amendment 114 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 7 a (new) 7a. Recognises that the tax, legal and administrative environment within which family businesses operate largely depends on civil and commercial legislation;
Amendment 115 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 7 a (new) 7a. Notes that increased internationalization of family businesses provides more opportunities for economic growth and increased job creation; calls on the Commission and the Member States therefore to provide smaller family businesses to make better use of the digital infrastructure;
Amendment 116 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 7 a (new) 7a. Recognises that the fiscal, legal and administrative environment in which family businesses operate is defined by the combined effect of corporate legislation and private law;
Amendment 117 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 8 8. Notes that 87% of family businesses are convinced that maintaining control of the business is one of the key factors of success4 ; notes that, according to the Commission’s ‘Entrepreneurship 2020 Action Plan’5 , the transfer of a business ownership as well as the transfer of management from one generation to the next is the greatest possible challenge facing family businesses; ___________ 4 European Family Business Barometer, June 2014. 5 COM(2012)0795. COM(2012)0795.
Amendment 118 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 8 8. Notes that 87% of family businesses are convinced that maintaining control of the business is one of the key factors of success4 ; notes that, according to the Commission’s ‘Entrepreneurship 2020 Action Plan’5 , the transfer of a business from one generation to the next is the greatest possible challenge facing family businesses; highlights that early preparation and specialised training for the parties involved can contribute to the success of such a transfer; ___________ 4 European Family Business Barometer, June 2014.
Amendment 119 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 8 a (new) 8a. Calls on the Commission and, in particular, the Member States to promote specific training for family businesses in business transfers, governance structures, owner strategies and innovating, in particular in countries where, for historical reasons, the family business concept is not as well established; notes that, in the long term, well-functioning vocational-training systems could be instrumental in combating the skilled- worker shortage and youth unemployment;
Amendment 12 #
Motion for a resolution Recital C a (new) Ca. whereas family farms offer a template for success because they put the principle of the environmentally and socially sustainable circular-flow economy into practice and because in that context women, as leaders, contribute not only entrepreneurial thinking, but also specific communication and social skills;
Amendment 120 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 8 a (new) 8a. Notes that small and medium family businesses are continuously challenged by a need for innovation and for attracting the right skills and talent; calls on the Commission and the Member States therefore to provide smaller family businesses with incentives to take risks for growth, incentives to implement staff training and to access external knowledge;
Amendment 121 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 8 a (new) 8a. Emphasizes that the family businesses should comply with the legal provisions related to the social insurance, pension contributions and safe work condition standards for the employees; family businesses should comply with the labour law and their employees have rights to good quality of living and a balanced work life;
Amendment 122 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 8 a (new) 8a. Calls on Member States to simplify administrative procedures and taxation systems in particular to take into account the specific challenges of small and medium-sized enterprises and family businesses ;
Amendment 123 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 8 b (new) 8b. Stresses that family business governance schemes should strengthen the links with external stakeholders, and the family business model should encourage the proportional representation of women and men in the boards of directors;
Amendment 124 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 8 b (new) 8b. Urges the Commission and Member States to take action to develop digital entrepreneurship and digital skills in order for family businesses to take full advantage of the use of digital technologies ;
Amendment 125 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 8 c (new) 8c. Underscores the need the family businesses to have direct link with educational activities that constantly inform them with the state-of-the-art practices of good business management; family business should also have easy access to human capital development opportunities for its employees;
Amendment 126 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 9 9. Calls on the
Amendment 127 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 9 9. Calls on the Commission and especially the Member States therefore to
Amendment 128 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 9 9. Calls on the Commission and especially the Member States therefore to improve the legal framework
Amendment 129 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 9 9. Calls on the Commission and especially the Member States therefore to improve the legal framework for the transfer of family businesses, including creating one-stop shops for business going through a transfer process, and create special financing instruments for transfers and thus prevent liquidity shortages so as to ensure the survival of family businesses and prevent distress sales;
Amendment 13 #
Motion for a resolution Recital C a (new) Ca. whereas family businesses create favourable environment for reconciliation of family and work life;
Amendment 130 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 9 9. Calls on the Commission and especially the Member States therefore to improve the legal framework for the transfer of family businesses and
Amendment 131 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 9 9. Calls on the Commission and especially the Member States therefore to set up a one-stop shop for family businesses involved in a business transfer, improve the legal framework for the transfer of family businesses and create special financing instruments for transfers and thus prevent liquidity shortages so as to ensure the survival of family businesses and prevent
Amendment 132 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 9 9. Calls on the Commission and especially the Member States therefore to improve the legal framework for the transfer of family businesses and
Amendment 133 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 9 9. Calls on the Commission and especially the Member States therefore to improve the legal framework for the transfer of family businesses
Amendment 134 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 9 a (new) 9a. Calls on the Commission and Parliament to revoke the deletion by the Amsterdam Treaty in 1997 of Article 44(2) of the Treaty of Rome, which provided for ‘the development of a natural preference between Member States’; calls therefore on the European Union to re- establish Community preference in the field of farm products and to adopt the requisite protectionist measures to enable SMEs which are family businesses to compete with businesses outside the European Union;
Amendment 135 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 9 a (new) 9a. Calls on the Commission, in the context of better regulation, to undertake an analysis of existing legislation which impacts on family businesses in order to identify problems and barriers to growth;
Amendment 136 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 9 a (new) 9a. Stresses the need to adopt on the EU level a binding legal definition of family business that would accommodate the existing diversity of family businesses in all Member States; underlines that this definition is a necessary precondition for further actions;
Amendment 137 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 9 a (new) 9a. Notes in this context the importance of promoting alternative forms of lending to family businesses, such as credit unions;
Amendment 138 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 9 a (new) 9a. Notes that small family businesses at times face challenges that arise from family member conflicts; calls on the Commission to commission studies that analyse EU family member conflict management procedures that are or could be effective for the quick and efficient resolution of such disputes and to promote exchanges of examples of good practices;
Amendment 139 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 9 a (new) 9a. Recalls that the existence of a one- stop-shop for enterprises can facilitate all the procedures they have to undertake, including those related to their transfer.
Amendment 14 #
Motion for a resolution Recital C a (new) Ca. whereas family businesses play a vital role in regional development, in terms of employment, transmission of know-how and regional organisation;
Amendment 140 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 9 a (new) 9a. Calls on the Commission and the Member States to set up one-stop shops for businesses which are undergoing a transfer process, and to create special financing instruments for transfers and thus prevent liquidity shortages so as to ensure the survival of family businesses and prevent distress sales;
Amendment 141 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 9 a (new) 9a. Calls on the Member States to ensure that tax practices, shown to be conducive to long-term family entrepreneurship, through exemptions on gift and progressive inheritance tax, are applied and are not eroded through short sighted reforms adopted under the pressure of the current debt crisis;
Amendment 142 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 9 a (new) 9a. Calls on the Member States to put into practice the principle of family perspective (family mainstreaming) to ensure more comprehensive and effective measures and policies;
Amendment 143 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 9 b (new) 9b. Stresses that the euro, a ‘one-size fits all’ currency, is a significant brake on the growth of SMEs, particularly those which are family businesses;
Amendment 144 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 9 b (new) 9b. Notes that promoting entrepreneurship in schools and other educational settings is of key importance to develop more entrepreneurial mindsets; education should include specific family business issues such as ownership, succession and family governance, together with more general information such as the importance of innovation as a means to re-invent the business;
Amendment 145 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 9 b (new) 9b. Calls on the Commission and the Member States to frame policies to encourage and assist those who wish to become listed on the stock exchange, also by promoting specific training programmes targeted at family businesses;
Amendment 146 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 9 b (new) 9b. Calls on the Commission to acknowledge the necessity of a progressive access to internationalisation of the family businesses, avoiding total exposure to international markets risks, while maintaining territorial added value attributed to this kind of business;
Amendment 147 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 9 b (new) 9b. Urges the Member States to take into account the informal and invisible work carried out by family members, also in family businesses;
Amendment 148 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 9 c (new) 9c. Calls on the Member States to evaluate the opportunities offered by family businesses for empowerment of women, equal opportunities and work-life balance;
Amendment 149 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 9 c (new) 9c. Stresses that family businesses’ contribution to innovation could be enhanced by promoting their participation in private-public partnerships and clusters and by fostering their collaboration with research institutions;
Amendment 15 #
Motion for a resolution Recital C a (new) Ca. whereas a considerable number of family businesses are active in more than one countries signifying that the family business model has a transnational dimension;
Amendment 150 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 9 c (new) 9c. Calls on the Member States to ensure that existing tax practices, which have proven to be of benefit to long-term family entrepreneurship through exemptions for corporate donations and inheritance tax, are not eroded by short-sighted reforms. In addition, access to these exemptions should be simplified and strengthened, so that all family-run businesses can benefit from them should they wish to remain a family business;
Amendment 151 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 9 d (new) 9d. Notes that Malta is introducing a Family Business Act which aims to support family businesses and addresses their concerns;
Amendment 152 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 9 e (new) 9e. Calls on the Commission to promote the adoption of a common definition of family business in the EU in order to facilitate the search and comparison of data related to their characteristics, circumstances and the difficulties they face;
Amendment 153 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 10 10.
Amendment 154 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 10 10. Invites the Commission and the Member States to harmonise the rules for family businesses in Europe; Calls on the Commission to
Amendment 155 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 10 10. Calls on the Commission to define the term ‘family business’ at European level and regularly to commission studies that analyse the importance of ownership for the success and survival of a business and highlight the specific challenges facing family businesses; calls on the Commission also to collect
Amendment 156 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 10 10. Calls on the Commission to commission regular and adequately financed studies that analyse the importance of ownership for the success and survival of a business
Amendment 157 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 10 10. Calls on the Commission to
Amendment 158 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 10 10. Calls on the Commission to commission studies that analyse the importance of ownership for the success and survival of a business
Amendment 159 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 10 10. Calls on the Commission to co
Amendment 16 #
Motion for a resolution Recital C a (new) Ca. Whereas the family perspective approach offers a deeper and complex understanding of real social and economic value of the family as well as its needs and therefore leads to more comprehensive and effective measures and policies, concerning family businesses as well;
Amendment 160 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 10 10. Calls on the Commission to commission regular and adequately financed studies that analyse the importance of ownership for the success and survival of a business and highlight the specific challenges facing family businesses; calls on the Commission also to collect enough data on family businesses in the various Member States both to allow a comparison of the situation of family businesses, as well as a comparison of family businesses and non-family businesses, and to promote exchanges of examples of good practices;
Amendment 161 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 10 10. Calls on the Commission to
Amendment 162 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 10 10. Calls on the Commission to commission studies that analyse the importance of ownership for the success and survival of a business and highlight the specific challenges facing family businesses; calls on the Commission
Amendment 163 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 10 10. Calls on the Commission to commission studies that analyse the importance of ownership for the success and survival of a business and highlight the specific challenges facing small family businesses; calls on the Commission also to collect enough data on family businesses in the various Member States both to allow a comparison of the situation of family businesses and to promote exchanges of examples of good practices;
Amendment 164 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 10 10. Calls on the Commission to commission ongoing studies that analyse the importance of ownership for the success and survival of a business and highlight the specific challenges facing family businesses; calls on the Commission also to collect enough data on family businesses in the various Member States both to allow a comparison of the situation of family businesses and to promote exchanges of examples of good practices;
Amendment 165 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 10 a (new) 10a. Calls on the Commission to create a legally binding Europe-wide definition of ‘family business’ taking into account different circumstances in the Member States;
Amendment 166 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 10 a (new) 10a. Calls on the Commission to establish, in cooperation with Eurostat, a definition of ‘family business’ that makes it possible to gather comparable data in the Member States on the special situation of family businesses;
Amendment 167 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 11 Amendment 168 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 11 11. Calls on the Commission to conduct an impact assessment of the extent to which a
Amendment 169 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 11 11. Calls on the Commission to conduct an
Amendment 17 #
Motion for a resolution Recital C b (new) Cb. Whereas the invisible and informal work brings a very significant contribution to social development and economic growth of each society and plays an important role in the development and sustainability of family businesses;
Amendment 170 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 11 11. Calls on the Commission to conduct an impact assessment of the extent to which a revision of the European SME definition from 2003 would be possible,
Amendment 171 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 11 11. Calls on the Commission to con
Amendment 172 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 11 11. Calls on the Commission to conduct an impact assessment of the extent to which a revision of the European SME definition from 2003 would be possible,
Amendment 173 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 11 11. Calls on the Commission to conduct an impact assessment of the extent to which a
Amendment 174 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 11 11. Calls on the Commission to conduct an impact assessment of the extent to which a revision of the European SME definition from 2003 would be possible, moving away from purely quantitative criteria to qualitative criteria that also take into account the social responsibility of a company, the ownership of a company, bearing in mind the interdependence of ownership, control and management and,
Amendment 175 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 11 11. Calls on the Commission to conduct an impact assessment of the extent to which a revision of the European SME definition from 2003 would be possible,
Amendment 176 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 11 a (new) 11a. Draws the Commission’s attention to the fact that the majority of family businesses are SMEs and that it is therefore of the utmost importance to apply the principle ‘think small first’, in order better to adapt European legislation to the realities and needs of these undertakings and to enable them to take advantage of aid programmes and measures to reduce administrative constraints;
Amendment 177 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 12 12. Calls on the Commission
Amendment 178 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 12 12. Calls on the Commission in the meantime, as part of its regulatory impact assessment, to establish a ‘family business test’ modelled on the SME test, in order to
Amendment 179 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 12 12. Calls on the Commission in the meantime, as part of its regulatory impact assessment, to establish a ‘family business test’ modelled on the SME test, in order to be able determine the effect of certain legal acts on family businesses in advance and thereby avoid unnecessary red tape and burdensome hurdles for family businesses;
Amendment 18 #
Motion for a resolution Recital C c (new) Cc. Whereas family businesses are indispensable for the EU economic progress and play an irreplaceable role in development and investment in human capital;
Amendment 180 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 12 12. Calls on the Commission in the meantime, as part of its regulatory impact assessment,
Amendment 181 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 12 12. Calls on the Commission in the meantime, as part of its regulatory impact assessment, to establish a ‘family business test’ (for policies concerning, for example, property, governance structures or privacy) modelled on the SME test, in order to be able determine the effect of certain legal acts on family businesses in advance and thereby avoid unnecessary red tape for family businesses, focusing particularly on the combined effects of company law and private law;
Amendment 182 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 12 12. Calls on the Commission in the meantime, as part of its regulatory impact assessment, to establish a ‘family business test’ modelled on the SME test, in order to
Amendment 183 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 12 a (new) 12a. Observes that disparities in, for example, tax legislation, subsidy schemes or the implementation of European legislation in neighbouring countries can cause problems in the border region for entrepreneurs, for example those with family businesses; calls on Member States therefore to review proposed national legislation and the proposed method of implementation of European legislation to ascertain the impact on entrepreneurs, such as those with family businesses, in border regions;
Amendment 184 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 13 Amendment 185 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 13 13. Calls on the Commission to establish, internally, a high-level group to lay the foundations for a permanent working group
Amendment 186 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 13 13. Calls on the Commission to
Amendment 187 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 13 13. Calls on the Commission to establish a permanent working group internally that specifically addresses the needs and characteristics of family businesses, regularly reports to Parliament and the Member States and acts as a contact at European level for family business for specific issues particularly relating to European legislation and access to EU funding;
Amendment 188 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 13 13. Calls on the Commission to establish a permanent working group internally that specifically addresses the needs and characteristics of family businesses, regularly reports to Parliament and the Member States
Amendment 189 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 13 a (new) 13a. Calls on the Commission to support all forms of new entrepreneurship, including the transformation of crisis- stricken companies into cooperatives, enabling workers to create alternative employment and safeguard the know-how they have acquired;
Amendment 19 #
Motion for a resolution Recital C d (new) Cd. Whereas family businesses have a significant role in reducing unemployment, particularly of young people;
Amendment 190 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 14 14. Calls on the Commission to
Amendment 191 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 14 14. Calls on the Commission to strive to strengthen entrepreneurship, and specifically the importance of values and education for transferring successfully family business leadership generation trough generation, throughout the EU and to create an environment for business excellence;
Amendment 192 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 14 14. Calls on the Commission to strive to strengthen entrepreneurship throughout the EU and to create a
Amendment 193 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 14 14. Calls on the Commission to strive to strengthen entrepreneurship throughout the
Amendment 194 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 14 14. Calls on the Commission to strive to strengthen entrepreneurship throughout the EU and to create a
Amendment 195 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 14 14. Calls on the Commission to strive to strengthen entrepreneurship throughout the EU and to create a
Amendment 196 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 14 14. Calls on the Commission to strive to strengthen entrepreneurship throughout the EU keeping in mind the importance of the family businesses in the EU economy and to create an environment for business excellence;
Amendment 197 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 14 a (new) 14a. Calls on the Commission to consider introducing the collection of data specific to family businesses which would therefore allow for better, more targeted assistance and the creation of appropriate support structures and investment;
Amendment 198 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 14 a (new) 14a. Calls on the Commission to spread the family business model throughout EU and facilitate the creation of contact points and one-stop-shop administrative structures for the family businesses;
Amendment 199 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 14 b (new) 14b. Calls on the Commission to develop and assist family business interest groups in the Member States that those interests are not sufficiently and efficiently represented;
Amendment 2 #
Motion for a resolution Citation 3 a (new) - having regard to the 2009 Report of the Group of Experts for the European Commission ‘Overview of family- business-relevant issues: research, policy measures and existing studies’,
Amendment 20 #
Motion for a resolution Recital C e (new) Ce. Whereas the sustainability and growth of family businesses also depend on the implementation of family perspective (family mainstreaming);
Amendment 200 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 15 Amendment 201 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 15 15.
Amendment 202 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 15 15. Calls on the Commission to urgently draw up a communication
Amendment 203 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 15 15. Calls on the Commission to draw up, as soon as possible, a communication analysing the role of family businesses with a view to boosting
Amendment 204 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 15 15. Calls on the Commission to urgently draw up a communication analysing the role of family businesses with a view to boosting the competitiveness of the EU’s economy by 2020, and to produce a road map listing the measures likely to strengthen the economic environment and development of family businesses in the EU;
Amendment 205 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 15 15. Calls on the Commission to draw up, as a matter of urgency, a communication
Amendment 206 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 15 15. Calls on the Commission to urgently draw up a communication
Amendment 207 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 15 15. Calls on the Commission to urgently draw up a communication analysing the role of family businesses with a view to boosting the competitiveness of the EU’s economy by 2020,
Amendment 208 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 15 15. Calls on the Commission to draw up a communication analysing the role of family businesses with a view to boosting the competitiveness and growth of the EU’s economy by 2020, and to produce a road map listing the measures likely to strengthen the economic environment and development of family businesses in the EU;
Amendment 209 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 15 15. Calls on the Commission to draw up a communication analysing the role of family businesses with a view to boosting the competitiveness of the EU’s economy by 2020, and to produce a road map listing the measures likely to strengthen the economic environment and development of family businesses in the EU, and to improve their competitiveness, international outlook and job creation potential;
Amendment 21 #
Motion for a resolution Recital D D. whereas the Commission’s group of experts on family businesses completed its work more than five years ago and no new European initiative has been launched since then
Amendment 210 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 15 a (new) 15a. Calls on the Commission in the meantime to urgently launch calls within the framework of HORIZON, COSME and ERASMUS (for young entrepreneurs) programmes focusing on the specific problems faced by the family businesses that are SMEs ; calls on the Commission and the Member States to coordinate specification and activation of the Partnership Agreements and related Operational Programmes within the EU Cohesion Policy current Programming period to the benefit of family businesses that are SMEs, especially in the Member States devastated by the crisis;
Amendment 22 #
Motion for a resolution Recital D D. whereas the Commission’s group of experts on family businesses completed its work more than five years ago, and no new initiative has been launched since then at EU level
Amendment 23 #
Motion for a resolution Recital E E. whereas there is no legally binding, concrete, simple and harmonized Europe- wide definition of ‘family business’;
Amendment 24 #
Motion for a resolution Recital E E. whereas there is no
Amendment 25 #
Motion for a resolution Recital E E. whereas there is no
Amendment 26 #
Motion for a resolution Recital E E. whereas there is no legally binding Europe-wide definition of ‘family business’; whereas European legislation on family businesses could support their full inclusion in the EU Single Market and facilitate their growth;
Amendment 27 #
Motion for a resolution Recital E a (new) Ea. whereas it is crucial the size of the firm to be a central criterion for the definition of the family businesses, given that the vast majority of them are constituted by a small or very small number of employees;
Amendment 28 #
Motion for a resolution Recital F F. whereas it is impossible, due to the lack of a definition, to gather comparable data in the EU Member States in order to draw attention to the special situation and needs of family businesses;
Amendment 29 #
Motion for a resolution Recital F F. whereas it is impossible, due to the lack of a definition, to gather comparable data in the EU Member States in order to draw attention to the special situation of family businesses. This lack of reliable and comparable data can hinder policy decision-making and may mean that the needs of family businesses are not being met;
Amendment 3 #
Motion for a resolution Citation 8 a (new) – having regard to the judgment of 2 February 2012 of the Court of Justice of the European Union, which compelled the Union to revoke the only protectionist measures it has ever adopted, namely the antidumping duties on shoes originating in China and Vietnam, whose adoption had been approved by Parliament in 2006,
Amendment 30 #
Motion for a resolution Recital F F. whereas it is impossible, due to the lack of a definition, to gather comparable data in the EU Member States in order to draw attention to the special situation and contribution of family businesses;
Amendment 31 #
Motion for a resolution Recital F F. whereas it is impossible, due to the lack of a definition, to gather comparable data in the EU Member States in order to draw attention to the special situation and contribution of family businesses;
Amendment 32 #
Motion for a resolution Recital F F. whereas it is impossible, due to the lack of a definition, to gather comparable data in the EU Member States in order to draw attention to the special situation and economic accomplishments of family businesses;
Amendment 33 #
Motion for a resolution Recital F F. whereas it is impossible, due to the lack of a definition, to gather comparable data in the EU Member States in order to draw attention to the special situation of family businesses, as well as to design and implement optimal and socially responsible supportive policies;
Amendment 34 #
Motion for a resolution Recital G Amendment 35 #
Motion for a resolution Recital G G. whereas the purely quantitative criteria set by the Commission for defining SMEs are not sufficiently attuned to the realities and size of small and medium-sized businesses, which means that many small and medium-sized family or owner- managed businesses in particular are excluded from funding and a reduction in red tape, which creates an unfair competition and obstacles for these businesses in the EU;
Amendment 36 #
Motion for a resolution Recital G a (new) Ga. whereas family businesses, beyond their economic significance, play also an important role in social terms;
Amendment 37 #
Motion for a resolution Recital H a (new) Ha. whereas the dogma of free movement of goods and capital condemns most family businesses in the European Union, in the short or medium term, to disappear in the face of competition from businesses outside the European Union which are not subject to the same rules – social, on safety or health, and environmental;
Amendment 38 #
Motion for a resolution Recital H a (new) Ha. whereas direct taxation and succession law are Member State competences
Amendment 39 #
Motion for a resolution Recital H a (new) Ha. Whereas a continuous and horizontal support of family businesses guarantees a progress, brings new opportunities and encourages entrepreneurship;
Amendment 4 #
Motion for a resolution Recital A a (new) Aa. whereas multi-generational character of family businesses reinforces the stability of the economy and introduces higher standards of corporate social responsibility towards their employees and environment;
Amendment 40 #
Motion for a resolution Recital H b (new) Hb. whereas the adoption of protectionist measures at European Union level is a necessary condition for the survival of most family businesses;
Amendment 41 #
Motion for a resolution Recital H b (new) Hb. Whereas family businesses run by women encourage their carrier aspirations, support their empowerment, improve equal opportunities an facilitate family-work balance;
Amendment 42 #
Hc. whereas the euro, a ‘one-size fits all’ currency, is a significant brake on the growth of SMEs, particularly those which are family businesses;
Amendment 43 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 1 1. Emphasises that family businesses may in positive cases demonstrate a high degree of social responsibility towards their staff and
Amendment 44 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 1 1. Emphasises that family businesses demonstrate a high degree of social
Amendment 45 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 1 1. Emphasises that family businesses demonstrate a high degree of social responsibility towards their staff and that they generally take a more sustainable and longer-term approach to the economic future of the business (by acting as ‘honourable businessmen’) than non- family businesses and thus make an important contribution to
Amendment 46 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 1 1. Emphasises that family businesses demonstrate a high degree of social responsibility towards their staff and that they generally take a
Amendment 47 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 1 1. Emphasises that family businesses demonstrate a high degree of social responsibility towards their staff
Amendment 48 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 1 1. Emphasises that family businesses demonstrate a high degree of social responsibility towards their staff and that they generally take a more sustainable and longer-term approach to the economic future of the business (by acting as ‘honourable businessmen’) than non- family businesses and thus make an important contribution both to their local communities as well as to Europe’s competitiveness and the creat
Amendment 49 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 1 1. Emphasises that family businesses demonstrate a high degree of social responsibility towards their staff and that they generally take a more sustainable and longer-term approach to the economic future of the business (by acting as ‘honourable businessmen’, responsible owners or stewards) than non-
Amendment 5 #
Motion for a resolution Recital A b (new) Ab. Whereas family businesses exhibit high integrity of values that guide their business operations; whereas family businesses as legal persons should be able to enjoy the freedoms enshrined in the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the EU;
Amendment 50 #
1. Emphasises that family businesses
Amendment 51 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 1 1. Emphasises that family businesses demonstrate a high degree of social responsibility towards their staff and that they generally take a more sustainable and longer-term approach to the economic future of the business (by acting as ‘honourable businessmen’) than non- family businesses and thus make an important contribution to Europe’s competitiveness and create and maintain jobs; observes that for example the association ‘the Henokiens’ has a membership comprising 44 family businesses in Europe and Japan which are two centuries old, and characterises the concept of durability of family businesses while promoting dynamism and modernity;
Amendment 52 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 1 1. Emphasises that family businesses demonstrate a high degree of social responsibility towards their staff and that they generally take a more sustainable and longer-term approach to the economic future of the business (by acting as ‘honourable businessmen’) than non- family businesses and thus make an important contribution to Europe’s competitiveness
Amendment 53 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 1 1. Emphasises that family businesses demonstrate a high degree of social responsibility towards their staff and that they generally take a more sustainable and longer-term approach to the economic future of the business (by acting as ‘honourable businessmen, responsible owners or stewards’) than non-
Amendment 54 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 1 1. Emphasises that family businesses demonstrate a high degree of social responsibility towards their staff and that they generally take a more sustainable and longer-term approach to the economic future of the business (by acting as ‘honourable businessmen’)
Amendment 55 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 2 2. Stresses that, because of their history, family businesses are very rooted in a particular location and thus also create jobs in rural and in less attractive areas; calls on the Commission and the Member States, therefore, to
Amendment 56 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 2 2. Stresses that, because of their history, family businesses are very rooted in a particular location and thus also create jobs in rural and in less attractive areas; calls on the Commission
Amendment 57 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 2 2. Stresses that, because of their history, family businesses are very rooted in a particular location and thus also create jobs in rural and in less attractive areas; calls on the Commission and the Member States, therefore, to provide the necessary infrastructure in order to ensure the competitiveness and enhance the potential growth of such businesses;
Amendment 58 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 2 2. Stresses that, because of their history, family businesses are
Amendment 59 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 2 2. Stresses that, because of their history, family businesses are very rooted in a particular location and thus also create and maintain jobs in rural and in less attractive areas; calls on the Commission and the Member States, therefore, to provide the necessary cost-efficient infrastructure in order to ensure the competitiveness of such businesses;
Amendment 6 #
Motion for a resolution Recital A c (new) Ac. Whereas family businesses have largely contributed to the surge of European economy ruined by the war by creating new jobs and facilitating growth; whereas many EU member are trying to curb high levels of unemployment caused by the current crisis; whereas right policies could motivate many European families to accept the responsibility for their lives and start their own family businesses;
Amendment 60 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 2 2. Stresses that, because of their history, family businesses are very rooted in a
Amendment 61 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 2 2. Stresses that, because of their history, family businesses are very rooted in a particular location and thus also create and preserve jobs in rural and in less attractive areas; calls on the Commission and the Member States, therefore, to provide the necessary infrastructure in order to ensure the competitiveness of such businesses;
Amendment 62 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 2 2. Stresses that, because of their history, family businesses are very rooted in a particular location and thus also make it possible to maintain and create jobs in rural and in less attractive areas; calls on the Commission and the Member States, therefore, to provide the necessary infrastructure in order to ensure the competitiveness of such businesses;
Amendment 63 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 2 2. Stresses that, because of their history, family businesses are very rooted in a particular location and thus also create and maintain jobs in rural and in less
Amendment 64 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 2 2. Stresses that, because of their history, family businesses are very rooted in a particular location and thus also create jobs in rural and in less attractive areas; calls on the Commission and the Member States, therefore, to provide the necessary infrastructure in order to ensure the competitiveness of such businesses
Amendment 65 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 2 2. Stresses that, because of their history, family businesses are very rooted in a particular location and thus also create jobs in rural and in less attractive areas, thereby helping to slow down the worrying process of ageing and depopulation affecting wide areas of the European Union; calls on the Commission and the Member States, therefore, to provide the necessary infrastructure in order to ensure the competitiveness of such businesses, paying particular attention to broadband telecommunications infrastructure with a view to bridging the digital divide that affects rural areas;
Amendment 66 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 2 a (new) 2a. Draws attention to the important role which women play in running family farms, and calls on the Member States to support business training aimed specifically at women farmers, in order to strengthen women’s involvement in family farming even further; urges in particular, in that connection, that support should be given to training projects for women who run family farms with a view to increasing women’s involvement in farming and regional organisations;
Amendment 67 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 2 a (new) 2a. Recognises that family businesses are the single biggest source of employment in the private sector; therefore, what is beneficial to continuity, renewal and growth in the family business sector is conducive to continuity, renewal and growth in the European economy;
Amendment 68 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 2 a (new) 2a. Acknowledges that much of the private-sector workforce is to be found in family businesses; underscores the fact, accordingly, that all improvements as regards the survival and growth of family businesses also benefit the European economy as a whole;
Amendment 69 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 2 a (new) 2a. Underlines that it is important the family business to have strong links with the European economic governance by including it in the procedures of the European Semester, so as to ensure that provisions for a fair and friendly fiscal environment for its operation are in place;
Amendment 7 #
Motion for a resolution Recital B B. whereas, according to
Amendment 70 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 2 b (new) 2b. Points out that, in agriculture, family farms are the most common business model; notes that, because land is owned, family farms are extremely rooted in a particular location; calls therefore on the Commission and Member States to ensure that the survival of family farms is not jeopardised by, in particular, excessive red tape;
Amendment 71 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 3 3. Notes that highly specialised family businesses in particular play an important role as suppliers and innovators to larger companies and that, given their long-term and intergenerational approach to business, they provide the companies they supply with material security and thereby make a significant contribution to economic growth;
Amendment 72 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 3 3. Notes that highly specialised family businesses in particular play an important role as suppliers to, and innovators for, larger companies and that, given their long- term and intergenerational approach to business, they provide the companies they supply with material security and thereby make a significant contribution to economic growth;
Amendment 73 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 3 3. Notes that highly specialised family businesses in particular play an important role as innovators and suppliers to larger companies and that, given their long-term and intergenerational approach to business, they provide the companies they supply with material security and thereby make a significant contribution to economic growth;
Amendment 74 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 3 3. Notes that highly specialised family businesses in particular play an important role as suppliers and innovators to larger companies and that, given their long-term and intergenerational approach to business, they provide the companies they supply with material security and thereby make a significant contribution to economic growth;
Amendment 75 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 3 – indent 1 (new) - Recognises that family businesses are the single biggest source of employment in the private sector; Therefore, what is beneficial to continuity, renewal and growth in the family business sector is conducive to continuity, renewal and growth in the European economy;
Amendment 76 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 3 a (new) 3a. Stresses that family businesses make a vital contribution to the success of vocational training reforms and to increasing the number of apprenticeships; points out that, in this connection, family businesses are very much dependent - as all businesses are - on a favourable political environment; states that the Commission should look into how vocational training systems should be designed in order to provide the best possible environment for family businesses to invest in apprenticeships;
Amendment 77 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 3 a (new) 3a. Family businesses can play an important role in encouraging minorities and under-represented groups to participate in their local economies;
Amendment 78 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 3 a (new) 3a. points out that the higher level of trust between family members makes family businesses very flexible and able to adapt quickly to changes in eco-social environment; at the same time, operating in niche markets for long periods of time enables family businesses to excel in identifying new opportunities and innovation;
Amendment 79 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 3 a (new) 3a. Points out that family businesses provide the most jobs in the private sector and that what is good for continuity, renewal and growth in the family business sector is therefore also good for continuity, renewal and prosperity in the EU economy as a whole;
Amendment 8 #
Motion for a resolution Recital B a (new) Ba. whereas family businesses are of various sizes, which exposes them to different difficulties and problems;
Amendment 80 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 4 4. Notes that family businesses often have a significantly higher equity ratio than non- family businesses and that this high equity ratio results in the economic stability of such businesses and of the economy as a whole, while at the same time providing scope for further investment in the business, which should not therefore be restricted; in this respect, stresses the need to ensure the equal treatment of equity financing compared to debt financing;
Amendment 81 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 5 5. Calls on the Member States, with this in mind, to ensure that national rules on the taxation of inheritance and gifts and on corporate taxation do not discriminate against equity financing, which is so vital for family businesses, but, rather, support it; calls on the Member States furthermore, from a competition point of view, not to grant preferential tax treatment for the debt financing of entrepreneurial investment and innovations; points out, in this connection, that in Hungary inheritance tax on business assets has been abolished;
Amendment 82 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 5 5. Calls on the Member States, with this in mind, to ensure that national rules on the taxation of inheritance and gifts and on corporate taxation do not discriminate against equity financing which is so vital for family businesses;
Amendment 83 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 5 5. Calls on the Member States, with this in mind, to ensure that national rules on the taxation of inheritance and gifts and on corporate taxation do not discriminate against equity financing which is so vital for family businesses;
Amendment 84 #
5. Calls on the Member States, with this in mind, to ensure that national rules on the taxation of inheritance and gifts and on corporate taxation do not discriminate against equity financing which is so vital for family businesses;
Amendment 85 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 5 5. Calls on the Member States, with this in mind, to ensure that national rules on the taxation of inheritance and gifts and on corporate taxation do not discriminate against equity financing which is so vital for family businesses
Amendment 86 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 5 5. Calls on the Member States, with this in mind, to ensure that national rules on the
Amendment 87 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 5 5. Calls on the Member States, with this in mind, to ensure that national rules on the taxation of
Amendment 88 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 5 5. Calls on the Member States, with this in mind, to ensure that national rules on the taxation of inheritance and gifts and on corporate taxation
Amendment 89 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 5 5. Calls on the Member States, with this in mind, to ensure that national rules on the taxation of inheritance and gifts and on corporate taxation
Amendment 9 #
Motion for a resolution Recital C C. whereas,
Amendment 90 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 5 5. Calls on the Member States, with this in mind, to ensure that national rules on the taxation of inheritance and gifts and on corporate taxation do not discriminate against equity financing which is so vital for family businesses; points out, in this connection, that in Hungary inheritance tax on business assets has been abolished; notes that, in France, change of ownership of undertakings has been facilitated by the Dutreil Pact, established in 2005, which permits partial exemption from registration duty (75%) when shares are transferred free of charge (as a gift or upon death);
Amendment 91 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 5 a (new) 5a. Call on the Member States, with this in mind, to examine the debt-bias within their tax codes, assessing its impact on the financing structure of companies and the level of investment; calls on the Commission to examine any tax driven discrimination of equity financing against the background of fair competition
Amendment 92 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 5 a (new) 5a. Calls on the Member States their taxation policies not to impede the succession of ownership and the long term perspective of the family businesses;
Amendment 93 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 5 a (new) 5a. Calls on the Commission and the Member States to ensure the importance of a soft transfer of business, especially concerning tax regimes.
Amendment 94 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 5 a (new) 5a. Urges the Member States therefore to look into the debt bias of national taxation systems and assess its impact on business funding structures and investment levels; calls on the Commission to look into any taxes that discriminate against equity funding in a market that should be based on the principle of fair competition;
Amendment 95 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 5 b (new) 5b. Stresses the need to protect women’s right to succession, on a par with men, in family businesses by promoting a culture of equal rights for men and women which fosters female entrepreneurship in family businesses, in positions of management, responsibility and leadership;
Amendment 96 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 5 c (new) 5c. Urges the Member States to draft and implement legislative and other credit- system measures that will result in family businesses that practise good governance, and not those that do not, being given incentives and support;
Amendment 97 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 6 6. Stresses that ensuring
Amendment 98 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 6 a (new) 6a. Calls on the Commission to consider extending the beneficiaries of all existing instruments for SMEs and / or entrepreneurs in particular COSME, to family businesses;
Amendment 99 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 6 a (new) 6a. Stresses that the Commission definition of SMEs as companies ‘which employ fewer than 250 persons and which have an annual turnover not exceeding 50 million euro, and/or an annual balance sheet total not exceeding 43 million euro’ does not adequately reflect the vast differences between micro, small and medium-sized companies and that this can have an implication on a company’s ability to access financing; funding mechanisms which are suitable for medium-sized enterprises may be wholly inadequate for a micro-sized company;
source: 552.105
2015/05/06
EMPL
107 amendments...
Amendment 1 #
Draft opinion Recital -Aa(new) Amendment 10 #
Draft opinion Recital A a (new) Aa. whereas the majority of family businesses are SMEs;
Amendment 100 #
Draft opinion Paragraph 4 a (new) 4a. Calls on the Commission to include in the European Semester recommendations to Member States on how to create a fair family business-friendly environment, in particular in the fields of taxation, business transfer and entrepreneurial education;
Amendment 101 #
Draft opinion Paragraph 4 a (new) 4a. Draws the Commissionʼs attention to the non-predatory nature of family businesses and the fact that they are firmly rooted in a local area, unlike multinationals.
Amendment 102 #
Draft opinion Paragraph 4 b (new) 4b. Highlights the importance of training in the field of human resources, career planning and management skills for family business owners, which will be necessary to make them capable of attracting and retaining skilled workforce.
Amendment 103 #
Draft opinion Paragraph 4 b (new) 4b. Calls on the European Commission to develop the European trade mark law in that way that especially smaller and medium-sized family businesses are better protected from unreasonable, coated trademark lawsuits of international enterprises.
Amendment 104 #
Draft opinion Paragraph 4 b (new) 4b. Calls on the Commission to actively promote and to disseminate information on the family business model throughout the EU, for example by establishing a family business contact point at the European Commission and by favouring the transfer of know-hows and best practices across the Member States, and by also making the best use of programmes such as the 'Erasmus for Young Entrepreneurs';
Amendment 105 #
Draft opinion Paragraph 4 c (new) 4c. Encourages the Member States to provide a clear legal framework for the formal and informal occasional employment of family members.
Amendment 106 #
Draft opinion Paragraph 4 c (new) 4c. Encourages Member States to make similar social security protections available to family business owners as to employees, as a stimulus for family business transfers.
Amendment 107 #
Draft opinion Paragraph 4 c (new) 4c. Draws attention to the important role of family farms in rural regions of many member states and calls on the Member States to support business training aimed specifically at farmers; urges in particular, in that connection, that support should be given to training projects for young entrepreneurs who run family farms with a view to increasing their successful involvement in farming and regional organisations;
Amendment 11 #
Draft opinion Recital A b (new) Ab. whereas due to the failure to provide a legally binding EU-wide definition of 'family business', many of these businesses will avoid to attain the SME threshold criteria as set by the European Commission, leading to a recruitment stop and loss of employment;
Amendment 12 #
Draft opinion Recital A b (new) Ab. whereas family businesses play a vital role in regional development, in terms of employment and regional planning;
Amendment 13 #
Draft opinion Recital B B. whereas many family businesses differ in terms of values from non-family corporations as
Amendment 14 #
Draft opinion Recital B B. whereas family businesses
Amendment 15 #
Draft opinion Recital B B. whereas family businesses differ
Amendment 16 #
Draft opinion Recital B B. whereas family businesses differ in terms of values from non-family corporations as regards long-term orientation, have a special degree of commitment to their local community – rooted in the European tradition of the ‘honourable merchant’ – and
Amendment 17 #
Draft opinion Recital B B. whereas family businesses differ in terms of values from non-family corporations as regards long-term orientation, have a special degree of commitment to their local community
Amendment 18 #
Draft opinion Recital B B. whereas family businesses differ in terms of values from non-family corporations as regards long-term orientation, have a special degree of commitment to their local community – rooted in the European tradition of the ‘honourable merchant’ – and are generally slower to close down and put workers out of jobs; whereas family businesses make a major contribution to the prevention of rural depopulation, and in many cases provide the only source of employment in the regions of Europe whose development is lagging behind most;
Amendment 19 #
Draft opinion Recital B B. whereas family businesses differ in terms of values from non-family corporations as regards long-term orientation, have a special degree of commitment to their local and regional community – rooted in the European tradition of the ‘honourable merchant’ – and are generally slower to close down and put workers out of jobs;
Amendment 2 #
Draft opinion Recital -A a (new) Aa. whereas family businesses can also take the form of corporations and whereas work in a family business is not free of charge;
Amendment 20 #
Draft opinion Recital B B. whereas family businesses may in positive cases differ in terms of values from non-family corporations as regards long-term orientation, have a special degree of commitment to their local community – rooted in the European tradition of the
Amendment 21 #
Draft opinion Recital B a (new) Ba. acknowledging the crucial example set by properly functioning family business governance and its importance for the sustainability of the social market economy and a new, sustainable working culture in Europe;
Amendment 22 #
Draft opinion Recital B a (new) Ba. whereas family businesses create a favourable environment for reconciliation of family and work life;
Amendment 23 #
Draft opinion Recital B a (new) Ba. whereas efforts at EU level in stimulating entrepreneurship and start- ups should be enhanced and complemented with a greater consideration for facilitating and stimulating the long-term survival of family businesses;
Amendment 24 #
Draft opinion Recital B a (new) Ba. whereas it is crucial to improve the legal climate for succession (transfer of the company within the family), notably the scope and scale of diverse approaches to inheritance and estate taxes across the EU, knowing that 480.000 companies are being transferred in the EU every year, with over 2 million jobs affected; Due to the many difficulties associated with such transfers, an estimated 150.000 businesses are forced to close each year resulting in the loss of 600.000 jobs 1 a; __________________ 1aEntrepreneurship 2020 Action Plan, COM(2012)0795
Amendment 25 #
Draft opinion Recital B a (new) Ba. whereas a common European definition of family business is necessary not only to improve the quality of statistical data collection on the sector's performance, but also as a means for policy-makers to better address the needs of family businesses and society;
Amendment 26 #
Draft opinion Recital B a (new) Ba. whereas family businesses demonstrate significant social responsibility by taking a long-term and sustainable approach to their development, contributing not only to their own competitiveness but also to the maintenance and creation of jobs in the area where they are established;
Amendment 27 #
Draft opinion Recital B a (new) Ba. whereas family businesses guarantee that knowledge and skills will be passed on and in some regions they are an important factor in social links;
Amendment 28 #
Draft opinion Recital B b (new) Bb. whereas family farms are family businesses that offer a template for success because they put the principle of the environmentally and socially sustainable circular-flow economy into practice;
Amendment 29 #
Draft opinion Recital B b (new) Bb. whereas entrepreneurship education can make a significant contribution to improving employment perspectives for young people since they are more likely to start their own business and their companies tend to be more innovative and successful than those led by persons without entrepreneurship education background, they are also at a lower risk of being unemployed and are more often in steady employment with better and better paid jobs 3 a; __________________ 3a http://ec.europa.eu/enterprise/newsroom/c
Amendment 3 #
Draft opinion Recital A A. whereas family businesses range in scope from small firms to corporations and represent
Amendment 30 #
Draft opinion Recital B b (new) Bb. whereas the size of a family company should be a central element to be taken into account in the definition of a family business;
Amendment 31 #
Draft opinion Recital B c (new) Bc. whereas inheritance taxes are a serious problem for especially smaller and medium-sized family owned enterprises, causing some of them even to downsize or liquidate;
Amendment 32 #
Draft opinion Recital B c (new) Bc. whereas the family business model is unevenly spread across the EU Member States; whereas a significant share of family businesses in Europe have a transnational dimension and carry out their activities in different Member States;
Amendment 33 #
Draft opinion Paragraph 1 1. Welcomes the work being undertaken on an EU definition of ‘family business’, and calls for
Amendment 34 #
Draft opinion Paragraph 1 1. Welcomes the work being undertaken on an EU definition of ‘family business’, and calls for
Amendment 35 #
Draft opinion Paragraph 1 1. Welcomes the work being undertaken on a
Amendment 36 #
Draft opinion Paragraph 1 1.
Amendment 37 #
Draft opinion Paragraph 1 1. Welcomes the work being undertaken on an EU definition of
Amendment 38 #
Draft opinion Paragraph 1 1. Welcomes the work being undertaken on an EU definition of
Amendment 39 #
Draft opinion Paragraph 1 1. Welcomes the work being undertaken on an EU definition of ‘family business’, in particular the notion of "ownership", and calls for the specificities within Member States’ definitions to be taken into account, in particular with regard to guaranteeing social rights, social security, pension entitlements and health and safety at work;
Amendment 4 #
Draft opinion Recital A A. whereas family businesses range in scope from small firms to corporations and represent 60 % of all European companies, providing between 40 % and 50 % of
Amendment 40 #
Draft opinion Paragraph 1 1.
Amendment 41 #
Draft opinion Paragraph 1 1. Welcomes the work being undertaken
Amendment 42 #
Draft opinion Paragraph 1 1. Welcomes warmly the work being undertaken on an EU definition of ‘family business’, and calls for the specificities within Member States’ definitions to be taken into account, in particular with regard to guaranteeing social rights, social security, pension entitlements and health and safety at work;
Amendment 43 #
Draft opinion Paragraph 1 1. Welcomes the work being undertaken on an EU definition of ‘family business’, and calls for the specificities within Member States’ definitions to be taken into account, in particular with regard to guaranteeing social rights, social security, pension entitlements and health and safety at work, as the EU level only constitutes an additional constraint;
Amendment 44 #
Draft opinion Paragraph 1 1. Welcomes the work being undertaken on an EU definition of
Amendment 45 #
Draft opinion Paragraph 1 a (new) 1a. Calls on those working on an EU definition of "family business" to make sure the definition meets the diversity of families found in EU societies and ensures non-discrimination of family forms, rather than limiting it to a concept of family meaning a man, a woman and their biological children.
Amendment 46 #
Draft opinion Paragraph 1 a (new) 1a. Calls on the Commission to continue work on establishing a common EU definition of 'family business' by conducting an impact assessment of a possible revision of the European SME definition from 2003, with the specificities within Member States' definitions to be taken into account, in particular with regard to guaranteeing social rights, social security, pension, entitlements and health and safety at work;
Amendment 47 #
Draft opinion Paragraph 1 a (new) 1a. Calls on the Commission to work on a common European definition of family business, which should be legally binding, simple, clear and easily applicable in all Member States and at the EU level;
Amendment 48 #
Draft opinion Paragraph 1 a (new) 1a. Notes that family businesses should not constitute a separate category from existing definitions of Micro- and SMEs; notes that a majority of family businesses have less than 5 employees and calls on the Commission to protect and define their activity accordingly;
Amendment 49 #
Draft opinion Paragraph 1 a (new) 1a. Calls on the Commission to work on an EU strategy which will introduce into the economy values which are found especially in family businesses: the integrity, continuity, local tradition, specific customer relation and social responsibility; indicates that family businesses are the type of enterprises that have ownership and governance structures that can be especially conducive to responsible business conduct;
Amendment 5 #
Draft opinion Recital A A. whereas family businesses
Amendment 50 #
Draft opinion Paragraph 1 a (new) 1a. having identified the ownership as a fundamental issue for the family businesses, calls on the Member States to consider introducing changes to their tax system and company laws, allowing for a more effective and smoother transfer and retention of business within the family; lowering the gift and inheritance tax, introducing favourable tax treatment of the reinvested profits compared to the one of debt financing, favouring the use of non-vote stocks as a way of improving the access to finance without losing control of the company, are only some of the good practices to be shared and promoted;
Amendment 51 #
Draft opinion Paragraph 1 a (new) Amendment 52 #
Draft opinion Paragraph 1 b (new) 1b. Stresses the importance of supporting micro, small and medium enterprises not only by funding, but also through a fair and progressive taxation, and a fairer and more even distribution of tax burden across labour, profits and consumption;
Amendment 53 #
Draft opinion Paragraph 1 b (new) 1b. Calls on the European Commission to draw up a list of common indicators based on which a family business could be described and which should enable statistics to be produced with respect to the contribution of family businesses to employment, total turnover of family businesses etc.;
Amendment 54 #
Draft opinion Paragraph 1 b (new) 1b. Stresses that the size of a family company should be a central element to be taken into account in the definition of a family business, given the fact that a one-size-fits-all regulatory approach is not capable to sufficiently address the diverse needs of family businesses and society, in particular with regards to taxation, access to finance and corporate governance and responsibility;
Amendment 55 #
Draft opinion Paragraph 1 b (new) 1b. whereas intra-family business transfer is often a succession of social and cultural capital, of knowledge generated from generation to generation, it shall be preserved and promoted; however recent figures from 2011 anticipate that each year some 450 000 firms in the EU look for successors, affecting up to 2 million employees; it is estimated that each year there is a risk of losing approximately 150,000 companies and 600,000 jobs due to inefficient business transfers; good practices on raising awareness of planning a company transfer early are crucial in this respect; employee buyouts are also one possible solution to the business succession problem of these European SMEs; appropriately designed long-term EFP models could also contribute to the retention of these small firm and strengthening regional economies and employment throughout the EU;
Amendment 56 #
Draft opinion Paragraph 1 c (new) 1c. Calls on Member States to join the European Commission's efforts in drawing up a list of common indicators and eventually a EU-wide definition thus enabling statistics on family businesses to better understand ownership and help design better policies facilitating access to market and financing for family businesses.
Amendment 57 #
Draft opinion Paragraph 2 Amendment 58 #
Draft opinion Paragraph 2 Subparagraph 1 (new) Calls on the competent authorities at the level of Member States to foster entrepreneurship and promote "mini- enterprise" projects in schools, considering the high potential of job creation of family businesses
Amendment 59 #
Draft opinion Paragraph 2a (new) 2a. whereas family businesses represent the largest pool of entrepreneurial potential and are natural incubators for the future entrepreneurs, there is a growing need for enhancing their innovation and progress; moreover in order to professionalise the management of family firms it is crucial to promote entrepreneurship education for both start- ups and existing family firms, incentivising innovation and progress especially at managerial level;
Amendment 6 #
Draft opinion Recital A A. whereas family businesses range in scope from small firms to corporations and represent 60 % of all European companies, providing between 40 % and 50 % of all jobs; whereas the vast majority of family businesses are SMEs, which provide employment for two thirds of people employed in the European Union, and which create 85% of new jobs in Europe;
Amendment 60 #
Draft opinion Paragraph 2b (new) 2b. whereas long-term objective requires high level of competitiveness and innovation, it is crucial for the family companies to employ skilled and qualified workers; calls on the family businesses themselves to properly balance the family governance aspects within the enterprises in order to attract skilled workforce, often afraid of nepotism and paternalistic practices and lower levels of career progression.
Amendment 61 #
Draft opinion Paragraph 3 3. Notes with concern that the financial crisis and subsequent recession have
Amendment 62 #
Draft opinion Paragraph 3 3. Notes with concern that the financial crisis and subsequent recession have dealt a heavy blow to European SMEs, many of which are family businesses; , and highlights the importance of a favourable regulatory framework
Amendment 63 #
Draft opinion Paragraph 3 3. Notes with concern that the financial crisis and subsequent recession have dealt a heavy blow to European SMEs, many of which are family businesses, and highlights the importance of a favourable regulatory framework to support healthy restructuring and thus job retention; stresses that as passing the business on from one generation to the next is the main challenge facing family businesses, it is important that Member States improve the legal framework for the transfer of family businesses and facilitate financing for these transfers thereby preventing cash- flow problems and distress sales and ensuring family businesses survive;
Amendment 64 #
Draft opinion Paragraph 3 3. Notes with concern that the financial crisis and subsequent recession have dealt a heavy blow to European SMEs, many of which are family businesses, and highlights the importance of a favourable regulatory framework to support healthy restructuring and thus job retention; points out to the Commission that an EU definition of ‘family business’ would assist the establishment of representative organisations;
Amendment 65 #
Draft opinion Paragraph 3 3. Notes with concern that the financial crisis and subsequent recession have dealt a heavy blow to European SMEs, many of which are family businesses, and highlights the importance of a favourable regulatory framework to support healthy restructuring and thus job retention; stresses at the same time that the legal framework must not permit any restriction of the social rights of employees or their rights under collective agreements;
Amendment 66 #
Draft opinion Paragraph 3 3. Notes with concern that the financial crisis and subsequent recession have dealt a heavy blow to European SMEs, many of which are family businesses, and highlights the importance of a decisive EU intervention to relaunch economic growth by creating high-quality jobs and a favourable regulatory framework to support healthy restructuring and thus job retention;
Amendment 67 #
Draft opinion Paragraph 3 3. Notes with concern that the financial crisis and subsequent recession have dealt a heavy blow to European SMEs, many of which are family businesses, and highlights the importance of a favourable regulatory framework to support healthy restructuring and thus job retention and additionally highlights the importance of the facilitating of the administrative procedures for family businesses, including the utilization of one-stop-shop solutions;
Amendment 68 #
Draft opinion Paragraph 3 3. Notes with concern that the financial crisis and subsequent recession have dealt a heavy blow to European SMEs in particular, many of which are family businesses, and highlights the importance of a favourable regulatory framework to support healthy restructuring and thus job retention;
Amendment 69 #
Draft opinion Paragraph 3 3. Notes with concern that the financial crisis and subsequent recession have dealt a heavy blow to European micro- enterprises and SMEs, many of which are family businesses, and highlights the importance of a favourable regulatory framework to support healthy restructuring and thus job retention;
Amendment 7 #
Draft opinion Recital A a (new) Aa. whereas especially family businesses create favourable environment for reconciliation of family and work life;
Amendment 70 #
Draft opinion Paragraph 3 – subparagraph 1 (new) Calls on the Commission and the Member States to ensure family businesses are better informed about opportunities for international development and to improve exchanges of experience and good practices, notably through the EURES programme supporting cross-border mobility on labour markets, and thereby bolster the viability and prosperity of family businesses, which are important job creators; emphasises the importance of the EURES-T service which can advise on labour mobility opportunities in cross- border regions and help cross-border workers to deal with legal, administrative and tax problems connected with labour mobility;
Amendment 71 #
Draft opinion Paragraph 3 a (new) 3a. Further notes the necessity to address other challenges that family businesses face, such as the difficulties to find and retain skilled workforce, and the importance to strengthen entrepreneurship education and family- business-specific management training;
Amendment 72 #
Draft opinion Paragraph 3 a (new) 3a. Draws attention to the important role of family farms in rural regions of many Member States and calls on the Member States to support business training aimed specifically at farmers;
Amendment 73 #
Draft opinion Paragraph 3 a (new) 3a. Urges the European Commission to facilitate and stimulate the long-term survival of family businesses and put more emphasis on developing support and guidance to facilitate transmission and succession of family businesses;
Amendment 74 #
Draft opinion Paragraph 3 a (new) 3a. Emphasizes that family businesses, due to the overlapping of family, ownership and business elements, have certain specificities which should be taken into account; stresses however the necessity to address labour law issues, social policy and social rights such as better gender balance on corporate boards, work-life balance provisions and financial participation of employees, in a fair and socially responsible manner;
Amendment 75 #
Draft opinion Paragraph 3 a (new) 3a. Asks the member states to find applicable and acceptable solutions regarding inheritance taxes on family- owned businesses, to ensure that the payment of these taxes does not lead the company into liquidity problems or adversely affect the number of employees and the sustainable development of the company in responsibility of the next generation.
Amendment 76 #
Draft opinion Paragraph 3 a (new) 3a. Considers it appropriate to allow the sale of the participating interest in a family firm to external partners who could strengthen the company and ensure its continuity, provided that the other family members always have the right of pre-emption;
Amendment 77 #
Draft opinion Paragraph 3 a (new) 3a. States that the crisis is only responsible for half of the cases in which family businesses go bankrupt, with excessive bureaucracy imposed by Brussels through Member Statesʼ laws being the other cause;
Amendment 78 #
Draft opinion Paragraph 3 a (new) 3a. Is concerned moreover by the difficulties caused to family businesses by third party structures which engage in unfair practices and encourage social dumping; encourages the Commission to take the measures necessary to create legal conditions favourable to correcting and stabilising the competitive balance of power;
Amendment 79 #
Draft opinion Paragraph 3 b (new) 3b. Calls on the Commission to continue to pursue a better implementation of already existing EU recommendations 1 a with regards to the simplification of the tax and regulatory framework (reduced inheritance and gift taxes) to improve the legal climate for succession; __________________ 1a The Recommendation of 1994, the Communication of 1998 and the Lille Forum, the Good Practice Guide 2003, the 2006 Communication from the Commission: Continuity through a new beginning
Amendment 8 #
Draft opinion Recital A a (new) Aa. whereas many rights of codetermination, social protection and occupational safety are not respected in family businesses, because of their size;
Amendment 80 #
Draft opinion Paragraph 3 b (new) 3b. Considers it advisable to harmonise at EU level the rules for transferring family businesses to heirs and/or to family members who are interested in maintaining employment levels and developing the company, through tax breaks to ensure continuity and in any case providing for cash compensation for those heirs or family members who are not interested in the business;
Amendment 81 #
Draft opinion Paragraph 3 c (new) 3c. Calls on the Commission and the Member States to further promote the exchange of best practices to aid family business transfers, notably in the regulatory environment;
Amendment 82 #
Draft opinion Paragraph 3 c (new) 3c. Considers it advisable to encourage the entry of professional external managers to improve the management of the family business;
Amendment 83 #
Draft opinion Paragraph 3 d (new) 3d. Calls on the Commission and the Member States to encourage employee financial participation in line with the growing public recognition of its merits due to the financial and economic crisis;
Amendment 84 #
Draft opinion Paragraph 3 e (new) 3e. Calls on the European Commission to actively promote gender equality in the framework of family businesses relating to entrepreneurship, skills, leadership, transmission and succession. To this end, using the existing administrative structures at the level of Member States to promote the setting up of one stop shop for female entrepreneurs. Calls also for the facilitation of child care support for "mother entrepreneurs".
Amendment 85 #
Draft opinion Paragraph 4 4. Draws the Commission
Amendment 86 #
Draft opinion Paragraph 4 4. Draws the Commission
Amendment 87 #
Draft opinion Paragraph 4 4. Draws the Commission’s attention to the need for equal treatment of big multinationals and family businesses of a similar size so as to ensure a balanced level playing field in terms of competition, while
Amendment 88 #
Draft opinion Paragraph 4 4. Draws the Commission’s attention to the need
Amendment 89 #
Draft opinion Paragraph 4 4. Draws the Commission’s attention to the need for equal treatment of big multinationals and family businesses so as to ensure a balanced level playing field in terms of competition, while respecting the unique nature of family businesses
Amendment 9 #
Draft opinion Recital A a (new) Aa. whereas new enterprises create on average two new jobs and expansion of existing businesses creates on average five new jobs;
Amendment 90 #
Draft opinion Paragraph 3 4. Draws the Commission’s attention to the need for equal treatment of big multinationals and family businesses so as to ensure a balanced level playing field in terms of competition, while respecting the unique nature of family businesses, in particular in those Member States in which such businesses were destroyed
Amendment 91 #
Draft opinion Paragraph 4 4. Draws the Commission’s attention to the need for equal treatment of big multinationals and family businesses so as to ensure a balanced level playing field in terms of competition, while respecting the unique nature of family businesses, in particular in those Member States in which such businesses were destroyed
Amendment 92 #
Draft opinion Paragraph 4 4. Draws the Commission’s attention to the need for equal treatment of big multinationals and family businesses so as to ensure a balanced level playing field in terms of competition, while respecting the unique nature of family businesses, in particular in those Member States in which such businesses were destroyed before and after 1945.
Amendment 93 #
Draft opinion Paragraph 4 4. Draws the Commission’s attention to the absolute need for equal treatment of big multinationals and family businesses so as to ensure a balanced level playing field in terms of competition, while respecting the unique nature of family businesses, in particular in those Member States in which such businesses were destroyed after 1945.
Amendment 94 #
Draft opinion Paragraph 4 – point 1 (new) (1) Stresses that family businesses too have a responsibility to offer appropriate training places or comparable work experience placements and must promote the further training of employees in their businesses in order to prevent skills shortages and to support the concept of lifelong learning.
Amendment 95 #
Draft opinion Paragraph 4 a (new) 4a. Highlights the importance of the EU- funded training schemes for small business entrepreneurs, which allow family business owners to adapt their companies to a fast-changing environment driven by increasing global economic integration, the appearance of new technologies and the focus on a low- carbon and greener economy.
Amendment 96 #
Draft opinion Paragraph 4 a (new) 4a. Calls on the Commission to draw up a non-legislative European family strategy which takes full account of the role played by parents in family businesses, including the social and economic significance of 'mompreneurs' and the specific contribution they make to implementing the principles underpinning fair leadership, entrepreneurial social responsibility and a new, sustainable working culture.
Amendment 97 #
Draft opinion Paragraph 4 a (new) 4a. Is concerned that the growing bogus self-employment can have a negative impact on the perception of family business;
Amendment 98 #
Draft opinion Paragraph 4 a (new) 4a. Calls on the Commission to establish within DG Enterprise a dedicated unit to support and inform family businesses, including a one-stop point of contact in each Member State to assist with access in EU funding and EU finance, and provide business assistance.
Amendment 99 #
Draft opinion Paragraph 4 a (new) 4a. Suggests that in order to support the development of family businesses, Member States should lay more focus on entrepreneurship related education and training.
source: 554.825
2015/05/07
EMPL
8 amendments...
Amendment A #
Draft opinion Recital A A. whereas family businesses r
Amendment B #
Draft opinion Recital B B. whereas family businesses
Amendment C #
Draft opinion Recital A a (new) a. whereas the majority of family businesses are SMEs; the size of a family company should be one of the central elements to be taken into account in the definition of a family business;
Amendment D #
Draft opinion Paragraph 1 1.
Amendment E #
Draft opinion Paragraph 1 a (new) a. Calls on the Commission to continue work on establishing a common EU definition of 'family business' by conducting an impact assessment of a possible revision of the European SME definition from 2003, by considering the size of a family company as one of the central elements, given the fact that a one-size-fits-all regulatory approach is not capable to sufficiently address the diverse needs of family businesses with regards to taxation, access to finance and by drawing up, together with the Member States, a list of common indicators based on which a family business could be described and which should enable statistics to be produced with respect to the contribution of family businesses to employment and to better understand ownership and help design better policies facilitating access to market and financing for family businesses; the definition should be simple, clear and easily applicable in all Member States.
Amendment F #
Draft opinion Paragraph 2 a (new) a. Calls on the competent authorities at the level of Member States to foster entrepreneurship and promote "mini- enterprise" projects in schools, considering the high potential of job creation of family businesses; as family businesses represent the largest pool of entrepreneurial potential and are natural incubators for the future entrepreneurs, there is a growing need for enhancing their innovation and progress; moreover in order to professionalise the management of family firms it is crucial to promote entrepreneurship education for both start-ups and existing family firms, incentivising innovation and progress especially at managerial level; including training in the field of human resources, career planning and management skills, which will contribute to attracting and retaining skilled workforce.
Amendment G #
Draft opinion Paragraph 3 3. Notes with concern that the financial crisis and subsequent recession have
Amendment H #
Draft opinion Paragraph 4 a (new) a. Draws the Commissionʼs attention to the fact that the majority of family businesses are SMEs and that applying the ʽthink small firstʼ principle is therefore essential in order to better adapt EU legislation to the realities and needs of these businesses, and enable them to benefit from funding programmes and a reduction in red tape.
source: 557.121
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History
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2015-04-27T00:00:00New
2015-07-06T00:00:00 |
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2015-01-08T00:00:00
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2015-01-07Show (3) Changes | Timetravel
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ITRE/8/02151
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Preparatory phase in ParliamentNew
Awaiting committee decision |
2014-12-23Show (5) Changes
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